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Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai as Afghanistan’s President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani (L) looks on during the inauguration of newly built complex of Afghanistan Parliament in Kabul on Friday. (Source: PTI)

Three months before Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a new Parliament building in Afghanistan, he had pushed to release more funds for the project, which had missed several deadlines.

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Accordingly, the Foreign Ministry started working to provide an extra Rs 500 crore towards the Afghan Parliament and Salma Dam — flagship projects of democracy and development in Afghanistan.

Nudged by Modi himself, the Ministry of External Affairs in November circulated a Cabinet proposal to raise the outlay provision for the Parliament to Rs 969 crore from Rs 710 crore (approved in June 2014) with the assurance of timely completion before December 31.

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Sources said the Parliament project was reviewed by the PM at the monthly Pragati meeting in October, where he agreed to release more funds.

The project, inaugurated by the Prime Minister on Friday, began in 2009 and had missed several deadlines.

At the Pragati meeting, the PM also approved extra funds for the Salma Dam multipurpose project, despite some objections by the Department of Expenditure. Earlier this week, the Union Cabinet approved the expenditure.